Dachlan Cartwright

Nuansantara 33 Dachlan Cartwright

This work forms the complete compilation of the author's verse tribute to Indonesia, previously published in two parts on Amazon. Dachlan first visited Indonesia in 1971, and has lived there more or less continually since 1983. The sequence of the poems follows a roughly geographical route from West Java through Central Java to Timor, then back to Aceh and Kalimantan. Mythical, historical and cultural figures evoked include Dayang Sumbi, Prince Diponegoro, Cut Nya Dien, Joseph Conrad, Elvy Sukaesih, Bob Marley, Iwan Fals, Marsinah and Inul Daratista. There are examples of sonnets, ballads, cynghanedd, pantun, limericks and haiku, and if there is an underlying theme it is a plea for harmony, reconciliation and "diversity in unity." So if you'd like to sweat in Jocastan panic with Dayang Sumbi, walk all around Parayangan with the mysterious Black Walker, witness the "Best of the Quest" face-off between Anwar and Rawprawn in the remote caves of Pamijahan, lose your boredom in the inimitable "boring" of Elvy and Inul, and radiate your Kalimantan jeans with Mansur Geiger and his peers, Nuansantara is for you. A thorough glossary explains the many allusions and references in the compilation, and can provide a factual guide to Indonesian terms even for those not so interested in poetry.